


Taylor-made

by vrepitsals



Series: They call Lance the Taylor [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Getting Together, Keith had a crush on Lance at the Garrison, M/M, Mutual Pining, Space family, They call Lance the Tailor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 21:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11975466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vrepitsals/pseuds/vrepitsals
Summary: "What was that?" Comes Keith's voice through the coms."It's a nickname Lance got his first year of  flight school.""Yeah, because of how I thread the needle" Lance adds, wiggling his eyebrows to an audience of no one. He feels like it adds something to his inflection nonetheless.------The rest of team Voltron find out about Lance's old nickname. Keith goes through a crisis, Shiro can't stop laughing.





	Taylor-made

Lance laughs as the Green Lion balances the ball on the edge of its nose for a moment, before sending it towards the Black Lion with a flick.

His vision is tinged with blue, and he can hear Blue's enjoyment rumbling underneath him. He knows in theory that he's blindfolded, but it doesn't feel that way. With Blue's visual enhancements giving him an eagle eye and her targeting computer focusing his mind, he's never felt more aware of the world around him.

Allura wasn't kidding when she said this would be a fun training session.

He catches the ball with all the gracefulness that Blue provides, and sends it flying to Red, who moves underneath it and passes it on with a flick of her tail.

Show off.

The trajectory of the ball is damn near perfect too, sailing towards the Yellow Lion, bang between the eyes.

It isn't such a surprise, with his Lion's preference for bulk over flexibility, that this drill is more difficult for Hunk than any of the rest of them.

As such, when Yellow lines up perfectly, but isn't quite quick enough to hit the ball back to Green, Lance is already half ready to dive. Hunk must have seen it coming too, because he tries to correct for the trajectory, but it isn't enough.

The ball is sailing over one of the rock formations, and Blue is already chasing it, before Red or Black have even thought to move.

The angle is high, and Lance knows he should go up and over the formation to retrieve it. It'll hit the ground before he gets there, and they'll have to start the count over, but it's not his fault anyway, and it's the most sensible option.

Lance spots a small opening in the formation. It's an even split whether Blue would even fit, and if she didn't he could bring the whole formation on top of himself.

Since when has Lance ever been called sensible?

He's under and through it before he can even question his decision. Blue is a purr in the back of his mind and a guiding hand on the controls, making the smallest of tweaks to his technique to ensure the smoothest ride.

And there's the ball, falling fast, but without the momentum he'd need to hit it all the way back.

He freezes it with an ice blast to give it some added weight, and smacks it from beneath in a wide arc.

It's short work to get back to the others as Keith uses Red's flame mid-air to defrost the ball back.

Lance can't help the grin on his face at Pidge's laughter.

"Nice work Tailor!" She all but screams at him.

"Thank you, thank you very much."

He doesn't notice Keith's fumble, but it must have happened. Because the ball is suddenly gone, fallen into one of the crevices of the valley they're currently in.

So much for that record.

"What was that?" Comes Keith's voice through the coms.

"It's a nickname Lance got his first year of  flight school," Hunk says, already dropping down into the valley to look for the ball.

"Yeah, because of how I _thread the needle"_ Lance adds, wiggling his eyebrows to an audience of no one. He feels like it adds something to his inflection nonetheless.

He expects Keith to bite back a retort. Expects derision or poorly constructed sarcasm.

The Red Lion's coms are silent.

"Someone else will need to go down there, it got lodged in a crevice too small for Yellow or Black," Hunk says as the Yellow Lion rises up from the depths.

Pidge offers to go, and is pointing her nose downward, when a strange sound causes them all to pause. 

Starting soft, and growing louder by the second, is a sound almost unnerving for all it is uncommon.

Shiro is laughing.

And laughing.

And laughing some more.

Lance isn't sure the exact tone he hears, but it makes him convinced that there are currently tears streaming down their leader's cheeks.

Still laughing.

Honestly Lance is starting to get a little worried.

"Shiro what the hell," is heard over the speakers in Keith's growl.

If anything this seems to just set him off more.

Lance is happy for the guy, he really is. Shiro barely smiles as it is, so such an expression of unbridled joy is a cause for celebration.

Heaven knows what's so funny though.

The minutes pass. Hunk and Pidge start up a conversation about their latest project. Lance  pulls off his training helmet and rubs his eyes.

Shiro's laughter slowly begins to subside.

"Sorry about that everyone, I'm ok," he says, with a few errant chuckles.

Lance, paragon of leadership he is, is just about to do the responsible thing for once and suggest they get back to training, when there's the muffled sound of talking from Shiro's com and he's off again.

"Who was…" Pidge says, before her tone snaps into annoyed, "Matt, are you hanging out in the Black lion during training again?"

Lance all but tunes out the familiar argument, leaning back and pillowing his arms behind his head.

"Do you have any idea how boring the castle is Katie?"

"We're kind of trying to save the universe here Matt, this isn't a trip to the Bahamas!"

"I've been locked in a Galra prison for 18 months, if I want to pretend this alien ship is the Bahamas I damn well will!"

All punctuated by Shiro's cackles.

Lance asks Blue how she's finding training, and basks in the warmth she sends through their bond.

Hunk is interjecting into their argument occasionally, trying and failing to get the team back on track.

The red paladin is silent. Lance can almost see Keith crossing his arms with a pout.

If he shuts his eyes he can imagine he's back on Veradera beach, basking in the sun.

Not listening to Matt and Pidge's sibling fight, or Shiro losing it over nothing.

Just the warmth of the sand behind his back, the gentle breeze and the gentle lapping of waves soothing his eyes closed.

…What was Shiro laughing at anyway?

He thinks back over the conversation, his amazing move, Pidge's compliment.

Wait.

No.

Lance jolts up, and his tone must give away something about the brick in his stomach because at his words the coms fall silent.

"Wait, Shiro are you _laughing at me_?"

He's not laughing anymore.

The silence lasts a beat too long.

"No Lance it's not-"

He can't hear Shiro's protestations over the buzzing in his ears.

His stomach drops through the floor as the thoughts he usually keeps at bay swarm in. Thoughts that only manage to rattle him on bad nights; thoughts which Pidge's hugs and Shiro's praise and Keith's smiles and Hunk's mere existence are the only things that can dispel.

He forces himself to chuckle.

"Doesn't matter," he says, voice wavering so minutely he doesn't think anyone else would have caught it, "Blue should be able to fit into the fissure."

Then he pushes the Blue Lion straight into top speed.

He breathes a sigh of relief when no one else follows.

"Shiro, were you laughing at him?"

Lance can hear the anger seeping into Hunk's voice. Sweetest Hunk, light of Lance's life and the best friend a boy could ask for.

He flicks him coms off before he has to listen to Shiro's explanation.

The rest of training is fine. Lance doesn't try any more stunts, and no one expects him to.

He keeps his coms off, and if anyone has a problem with that, they aren't able to voice their concerns anyway.  They continue to play the game, all focussed more than ever, but somehow less successful. Lance hums and taps his feet and talks to Blue just to fill the silence.

Eventually, the Black Lion catches the ball in its mouth and hangs on.  The Green Lion pauses by him and gestures its head towards the castle, and waits for Blue to nod back before they all head in.

Lance isn't sure whether or not the other paladins will come and try to give him comfort, or hang back and give him space. He decides he's allowed to be offended for another hour or two before he'll have to put it aside for the sake of the universe, for the sake of his new family. Then he'll listen to Shiro apologise, and accept it with a smile.

But for now he all but runs out of Blue as soon as she sets down. Turns one corner and another, trying to stay as silent as possible.

He gets to his room, and, although he knows it's not the sneakiest of hiding spots, it is the one place in the Castle he's allowed to bar others access. He puts his room into sleep mode and grabs his pyjamas, before heading into the bathroom for some well-earned pampering.

A long, warm bath, a face mask and two run throughs of the playlist Pidge made him later, he's back to feeling almost human, and about as ready to face the team again as he's ever going to be.

It's still half an hour or so until dinner, but he decides to spend the time stretching his legs. Maybe see what Hunk's working on, or help Pidge test Rover 2 for a little while.

Outside his door, though, sitting innocuously on the floor, is a note.

 

_I need to talk to you._

_\- Keith_

 

The Red paladin couldn't even be bothered to wait apparently.

Lance crumples it up and puts it in his pocket with a sigh. He turns left instead of right, and stops to knock on Keith's door.

No answer.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" He mutters to himself as he traces the familiar path to the training room.

Likely this is all an elaborate setup to make him talk to Shiro or something, not that he wasn't going to anyway. But then part of him also reminds himself that it isn't really that much of a stretch to believe that Keith would be unaware enough of social norms to leave him a note and then just vanish.

Sure enough, when he gets to the training room and sees who's inside, he wants to put his head in his hands, but can't stop a fond smile spreading across his face.

Keith is fighting the Gladiator, blocking stroke after stroke, completely oblivious to any social obligation he might have given himself.

Lance leans against the frame and decides to just wait it out. It's not like he's in a rush to anywhere concrete, and Keith has improved so much since they were pulled into space that watching him fight is almost relaxing. His movements are swift and graceful, moving though his footwork in almost a dance.

Especially now, when he's not fighting for his life, when his scowl of concentration breaks to let a small grin through whenever he makes a particularly good hit or block.

It took Lance a few months to realise that Keith isn't just a stick in the mud, but actually finds training genuinely enjoyable. He still doesn't understand it, but he's come to accept Keith's slightly off-centre hobby. And really, he can't talk, not after Keith has spent an afternoon helping him track down some rare Altean part so Coran could reconfigure the textile synthesiser to make knitting wool.

There's a particularly loud clang from across the room, and Keith wipes his brow as the Gladiator disappears.

"You wanted to talk to me mullet?" Lance asks, grinning as Keith starts. 

Keith doesn't seem to relax when the shock passes. If anything his shoulders tense more as he picks up a water pouch and takes a sip.

"Yeah I did," he says, gazing across the floor.

"Well?" Lance steps forward and makes himself as comfy as possible on the training room floor, "here I am."

He raises an eyebrow at Keith and he lets out a chuckle, which only sounds 40% forced.

Keith moves towards him, and crouches down. After a few minutes, and a look from Lance, he sits down, still sipping water as he thinks.

"Shiro wasn't laughing at you" he blurts out, after about 30 seconds of silence.

Lance sighs. He should have known this was coming.

"Keith, I get it. You want me to forgive Shiro. It's fine, I stopped caring an hour ago."

"No-" Keith almost cuts him off in a rush to get the words out, but as soon as he does he pauses, like he isn't actually sure what he wants to say.

Lance waits.

"He wasn't laughing at you. He was laughing at me."

Lance almost laughs. Oh Keith. Sweet Keith, the worst liar Lance has ever met.

"Keith you don't have to lie, it's fine," and it almost is. The fact that Keith would lie is both annoying for all that he knows it's only to defend Shiro, and sweet for all he hopes that some of it might be Keith trying to protect his feelings.

Keith groans.

"I'm serious."

"And I don't believe you."

Keith rolls his eyes and buries his face in his hands. He sits just like that, stock still, whispering something that sounds like curses, before he sits back and looks at Lance with tired eyes.

"Ok, how about this…"

Keith sighs. Lance is just about to interrupt.

"Back at the Garrison there was this boy I had a huge crush on, alright?"

Lance starts, for just a moment, because what a change of topic.

"Okay…?"

"He was…" Keith's face makes a strangled expression before he forces himself to continue, "he was loud. Sometimes I felt like I didn’t understand most of what he was saying, he used to make fun of the instructors and he wasn't the best in the simulator but he acted like he was anyway, and he hated me for reasons I'll never know."

Lance's frown pulls down, and he tells himself it's not jealousy.

"He was kind. He encouraged us all to do better. When the teachers tried to pit us against each other, for the good grades and promises of graduate jobs, he helped everyone relax and work together. You could feel the tension lift whenever he entered a room."

Lance's stomach drops out at the fond look on Keith's face. He could count the number of times he's seen it on one hand, on one finger the number of times it's been directed at him. He couldn't count on all the stars how many times he's wanted it to be flashed his way.

"Sounds like you really liked him," Lance says, trying to ensure no bitterness seeps into his tone.

Keith's face turns to him, and the smile softens even further.

"I never stopped."

And isn't that just great. Lance has spent years following in Keith's footsteps, shouting and yelling and begging for attention which was never going to be his, because it already belonged to some other cadet who probably never appreciated it.

"Shiro used to tease me by how often I talked about him. I wrote this terrible poem about him when I was 14 or so, which of course Shiro found and memorised. He was…"

Keith stops, and takes a deep, shuttering breath. Lance is about to cut him off, tell him it's fine because he wants to hear about Keith's crush about as much as Keith wants to tell him, but he stops when he realises just how red Keith's face has gotten.

"Shiro was laughing at me because I didn't know this boy very well, and so when I met him in my first year of flight school I thought his name was Taylor."

Lance's brain screeches to a halt.

He can't mean…

"Those months living in the desert I kind of just repressed everything from the Garrison. So when you rushed in while I was saving Shiro, I didn't know who you were."

Lance sits and stares.

"But then it didn't matter because you held my hand and said we were a good team, and I feel for you again anyway," Keith says, not looking at him.

This isn't real.

But Keith is sitting in front of him, his smile slowly seeping from his face as Lance takes the time to process the best news he's received since their whole space adventure began.

Lance reaches out a hand, takes Keith's palm in his, partly because he's worried Keith will run away before he has a chance to answer, partly because this is what he's wanted to do for years.

"Keith, most of what I said to you at the Garrison made no sense. I just wanted to you look at me."

Keith's slowly developing frown burns away, and suddenly he's all but beaming.

"I really like you, Lance" he says, holding his hand tighter.

Lance's heart sings.

"I really like you too"

Lance pauses for a moment, sees the smile on Keith's face, and decides to just go for it.

He leans forward, slowly, giving Keith plenty of time to back away. But before he can close the gap, Keith is already there, kissing him softly, taking his other hand and running his thumb across Lance's knuckles.

They stay there for longer than they have. Longer than they should. The time passes far too quickly.

When they enter the dining hall, everyone else is already there. 

Hunk shoots Lance a grin and a thumbs up when he sees their linked hands. Pidge smiles at them and digs into her food goo.

Lance looks Shiro straight in the eye.

"Taylor is in the house!" he exclaims, smiling when Keith chuckles and grips his hand tighter.

Shiro throws his head back and laughs.


End file.
